Time to Change Your Furnace Filter?
By Dave Trosdahl on January 6th, 2008
Here’s a question we are asked all the time; “How often do I need to change my furnace filter?”. While there are many factors involved, a good rule of thumb is to change your furnace filter every month. here are some of the factors to consider when deciding how often you should change the furnace filter in your home:
- Is your house dusty? – A house with dirty air ducts will blow dust and dirt around the house and will ultimately assist in plugging up the filter faster. If it’s been a while since you had your air ducts cleaned, play it safe and get them cleaned.
- Do you have pets? Cats and dogs are notorious for shedding hair which will eventually find it’s way into your heating and cooling system.
- How often does your furnace run? If you live in Minneapolis or New York City, chances are your furnace will run a lot more than if you live in Atlanta. On the other hand, the people that live in Atlanta will run their A/C a lot more than the folks who live in the northern climates.
- Are you bothered by allergies? You might be tempted to go out and purchase a HEPA filter, but be prepared to pay for it twice! Not only will you pay more for it and still have to replace it every 6 months or so, your furnace will be required to work much harder to draw air through the filter.
- If you have an electrostatic furnace filter you will need to wash it as recommended by the manufacturer.
No matter what you decide, remember that if there is a forced air system in the home or office the filter must be changed regularly and duct cleaning should be considered as a part of routine home maintenance. Doing so will help insure that your family is breathing cleaner air and your heating/cooling system is not overworking.
Filter Hut says:
Couldn’t agree more. Great information on the value of changing furnace filters.
April 24th, 2008 at 2:38 pm
Lucas says:
Nice post, thank you for posting
June 16th, 2008 at 10:00 am
furnace ca says:
i’ll try this one
June 25th, 2008 at 4:41 pm
furnace ca says:
i’m goin’ to try this on before winter
June 25th, 2008 at 4:42 pm
Chris says:
Great post! Cleaning and changing out your furnace filter is the best way to keep your furnace running longer and the air you’re breathing cleaner. If you neglect cleaning and/or changing out your furnace filter then your furnace could overload and shut down and even in rare cases I’ve heard of it starting a fire!!!
September 2nd, 2008 at 8:06 pm
window cleaning service says:
People need to understand that their health is at stake by now maintaining clean air ducts… It’s definitely a more important service than window cleaning, but I recommend that both are done
September 12th, 2008 at 5:48 am
office cleaning service says:
im guilty that i often overlook the furnace..actually it’s important to pay attention to the furnace since it keeps us from warm
March 6th, 2009 at 12:39 am
furnace filters outlet says:
Great post. Don’t forget to let people know that the higher the MERV rating the more often you have to change the filter due to it becoming more restricted faster because it captures more dirt!
June 18th, 2009 at 5:33 am